MMA commentator Dominick Cruz has his doubts regarding Dricus du Plessis’s ability to bridge the gap with Khamzat Chimaev.
During their bout at UFC 319 for the title, Khamzat Chimaev outclassed Dricus du Plessis, earning the title of UFC middleweight champion. His performance was remarkably dominant, and as we look toward the future, it’s challenging to envision a circumstance where he relinquishes his championship.
Nonetheless, Dricus du Plessis is determined to make every effort to reach that objective. To do this, he must return to square one and truly contemplate how he intends to address the significant challenge posed by ‘Borz’s’ wrestling skills.
In a recent podcast session, Dominick Cruz shared his candid opinions about the talent disparity between Chimaev and Dricus du Plessis.
Dominick Cruz’s perspective on Dricus du Plessis
“He claims six months, I’ll address some issues, but when I observe that, that’s not truly six months,” Cruz stated on the “Anik & Florian Podcast.” “He didn’t manage to create separation even once – like, at any point. His legs weren’t part of the equation while he was on his back. He just hasn’t been held on his back for that duration before, I believe, and to escape, one must have some offense from the bottom.
“If your sole focus when taken down is to escape, that tends to be somewhat defensive. When you find yourself on the bottom and being controlled, one must have an offensive strategy from that position. For instance, you could strive for a single-leg takedown.
“To knock down a double leg, you must be willing to create imbalance. You also have to be able to create imbalance to achieve a front headlock, and then some kind of offensive maneuver from the bottom is essential. There needs to be an attack of some sort so that the opponent on top refrains from suffocating you, and he wasn’t able to produce that.
“When examining the difference in that specific match, it appeared as if there were two fighters at entirely different levels, simply because the gap wasn’t bridged. Now, I could assert that if DDP had managed to escape just once, I would have a completely different viewpoint, but he didn’t, and that was the reality. He failed to escape even once. He could not separate at all.”
“I believe DDP can overpower nearly anyone else in the division,” Cruz expressed. “This specific matchup, however, really reveals vulnerabilities, and that’s part of the champion’s experience.”
